Storm to bring rain, snow to region.
Parts of the region can expect anywhere from a half an inch to three-quarters of an inch of rain
By winter standards, it’s not much, but when Monday’s drizzle turns to more rain in the Bay Area and snow in the Sierra on Wednesday, the stronger storm system will seem like a lot.
“Relative to this year, it will be a big system,” said meteorologist Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services. “But in the universal sense of January storms, it’s not going to be a big deal.”
Monday’s rain was barely measurable in some parts of the region like San Jose, but by midweek the Bay Area can expect a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy snow is expected in the Sierra, a welcome relief for ski resorts that suffered through a dry December along with the rest of the state.
The Bay Area hasn’t seen much rain since earlier this month, when the same system slammed into the Santa Barbara fire zone causing massive mudslides that claimed at least 21 lives.
Rainfall totals across the Bay Area this season, however, are still barely half of normal, Null said.
“That’s a lot of deficits to make up,” Null said. “We’ve had dry Januarys and very wet Februarys and Marches. You can’t put a real big cap on it until we get to April.”
After enduring five years of drought, which ended last year, many Californians are glued to their rain gauges.
By Monday afternoon, San Francisco
had received 0.32 of an inch in the latest storm, Oakland measured 0.34 of an inch, and San Jose received just 0.04 of an inch. In the North Bay, the rain gauge at Venado — one of the wettest locations in Sonoma County at 1,200 feet elevation — received 3.44 inches.
Although Wednesday’s storm is expected to be stronger, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Mejia said, “We don’t see any concerns right now as far as flash flooding or debris flow” on the firescarred hillsides of the North Bay.
In the Sierra early Monday, chains were required on Interstate 80 and Highway 50. By Thursday, snow is expected to fall at 2,000 feet elevation.
“Our perspective gets skewed by what we’ve had to date,” Null said. “The one on Wednesday will be stronger, but it won’t be memorable.”